Naturally, this rumor also reached Bai Youjin's ears. Gu Yanyue had been busy learning how to make muskets from Bai Youjin these days, and Yuwen Ran had been thinking about a safer way to attack the city in the royal tent. The couple had both stayed indoors and naturally did not hear the rumor, let alone pay attention to it.
But Bai Youjin was different. After half of his body was buried in the earth, he finally took in a disciple who was pleasing to his eyes. How could he tolerate Gu Yanyue being given the title of "the evil concubine who brought disaster to the country" by the soldiers in the camp for no reason?
Bai Youjin has been staying in the big tent since she arrived at the camp with Yuwen Ran and Gu Yanyue. She rarely goes out. Even her daily meals are delivered by Yuwen Ran's secret guards. No one in the camp knows of her existence except for a few soldiers who saw her on the day she arrived.
Bai Youjin was afraid that his identity would be revealed and he would never live a peaceful life again, but he was even more afraid that the dirty water thrown on Gu Yanyue would be written into history books and be scolded by future generations.
So Bai Youjin stepped out of the big tent again after she entered that day. She came to the middle tent and glanced at the soldiers who were arguing at the door of the middle tent. They were clamoring for the chief military officer, the left and right guards and Yuwen Ran to give them a reasonable explanation.
Seeing this scene, Bai Youjin couldn't help but sneer, looking at the backs of those soldiers, his eyes almost rolled up to the sky. The soldiers heard the movement and turned around, just in time to see Bai Youjin rolling his eyes.
I haven't seen Bai Youjin in this camp for many days. I think he is just someone Gu Yanyue found in the city to serve me. I feel even more dissatisfied with Gu Yanyue, and even the look in my eyes when I look at Bai Youjin becomes disgusting.
An angry soldier immediately pointed at Bai Youjin and started cursing: "Who do you think you are? How dare you interfere in our affairs?"
Bai Youjin didn't get angry at being scolded. He flexed his fingers from under his sleeve and a locust stone flew out from his sleeve and hit the knee of the rude soldier, causing him to fall to his knees with a thud. Bai Youjin said slowly: "I am your ancestor."
The soldier was not convinced and was about to stand up and pounce towards Bai Youjin. Bai Youjin didn't even look at him and hit his other knee with the locust stone in his sleeve. Before he could stand up and take two steps, Bai Youjin knocked him to his knees again. This time, the soldier's lower body was unstable and he fell on his back in front of everyone.
"You, a bunch of grown men with arms and legs and martial arts skills, actually want a weak woman like my disciple to stand in front of you and serve as bait! I haven't been out in the world for many years, and I didn't expect the world to be so corrupted. On the battlefield, a group of grown men actually want a weak woman to stand in front of them. I wonder if you would be ashamed if you tell others about it!"
"If I had a son like you, I would just throw him into the woods and let him die. He wouldn't live to harm other girls. If he died, he could save some food for the people. At least he would be more considerate of the people than you are, so it wouldn't be a waste of my life!"
The soldiers listened to Bai Youjin's indirect criticism and wished they could dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it, never to see anyone again.
It would be fine if what Bai Youjin said was unreasonable, but what Bai Youjin said was the truth, and they had no chance to refute even if they wanted to.
A sharp-eared soldier heard Bai Youjin mention the words "recluse" and "forest," and seeing that she was young but had a head full of white hair, he had a rough guess about Bai Youjin's identity. However, since he was young and had only heard about her from his elders, he was unsure of her identity. So he stepped forward, stood in front of Bai Youjin, saluted respectfully, and asked, "Excuse me, Senior, are you the world's number one master of mechanical devices—Bai Youjin, Senior Bai?"
Seeing that his identity was exposed, Bai Youjin didn't plan to keep it a secret any longer. He condescended to nod, which was considered an admission.
The soldier was overjoyed. "It was our fault for being blind and falsely accusing your disciple. I apologize to you on their behalf. I beg you to be magnanimous and not to bother with us, a bunch of youngsters who are so blind to recognize the true master."
Bai Youjin hummed a few times and said nothing more.
Bai Youjin didn't say anything, and the soldiers didn't dare to speak either. Even if they had never seen Bai Youjin, they had heard of his title of "the best mechanical engineer in the world". The noisy environment suddenly became quiet.
A few days later, Tuoba Chen finished resting his army and led his troops to attack Shuocheng. He was cut off from the news and thought that Yuwen Ran, the commander-in-chief of the army, had not returned yet. He wanted to take advantage of the absence of the commander-in-chief of the Central Plains Army to capture another city.
This wasn't Tuoba Chen's fault. With Yuwen Ran's return, patrols had tightened, like a fortress so solid that not even a bird could get through. Prince Xiang's men didn't dare to rashly pass on any information to Tuoba Chen. If he were caught, all his efforts would be wasted.
The royal family of the Western Regions was in turmoil and wars were ongoing. The iron golem ridden by Tuoba Chen was the most terrifying ghost.
The most elite Iron Golems use not ordinary horses but rather Crooked Horses for support. No matter the situation, they will fight to the death and hold the enemy back. Ten thousand strong armies of the Central Plains were once caught off guard and defeated by a mere hundred or so Iron Golems.
And in front of him, the black armor standing at the foot of the city was clearly the iron golem ridden by Tuoba Chen. One was not enough, and another iron golem appeared.
The chief military officer stood on the top of the city wall, feeling a biting coldness on his back, which enveloped his lungs and seeped through his limbs and bones.
At this time, the gate of Yunshuo City was still open. If the gate was closed immediately, it would be easy for the second iron golem to break into the city directly.
Just like before, they simply held back the army, cut off their retreat, and trapped them in the city.
If the city was not closed, the two iron puppets would be able to attack from both sides and break through the army's formation inside the city, enter the city gate directly, and capture Shuo City in one fell swoop.
It's a dead end.
"Go and call His Majesty!"
Yuwen Ran and his men rushed over upon hearing the news. When they climbed up the city wall, they almost stepped on empty air. Looking at the iron golems below the city, they immediately gave the order: "The army is ready to fight. Once the army leaves the city, close the city gates immediately!"
As he spoke, Yuwen Ran picked up the spear held by a nearby soldier, looked at the iron puppet below the city with a different look than before, and said sternly: "No matter who comes, they will be killed!"
The Iron Golem leader, Tuoba Chen, hid his features beneath a heavy iron mask. He raised his long sword towards the white sun in the sky, slowly slashed it forward, and uttered a single word, "Charge!"
Gu Yanyue took advantage of the chaos to climb up to the city gate and handed the musket he had just made to Yuwen Ran, asking him to take it with him and use it if he encountered any danger.
Yuwen Ran hurriedly took the musket, kissed Gu Yanyue on the lips, and said, "Wait for me to come back!"
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